A rap sheet of 58 pages

Albany County drug investigators are hoping the 123rd criminal charge will end the career of a longtime drug dealer who was arrested Thursday for allegedly possessing heroin at a Morton Avenue Stewart’s Shop.

Police arrested Leslie Topping, 53, of Delaware Terrace, saying he had 32 bags of heroin valued at $700. Authorities say they found another 19 bags at the halfway house in which he was staying, Albany County Sheriff’s Office Investigator John Burke said.

Topping has been charged with 123 different charges that yielded 48 convictions, including six felonies. His criminal history dates back to 1974.

“He’s just fallen through the cracks,” Burke said. “We’ve never seen someone with this many arrests and that bad of a rap sheet.”

Topping’s criminal record is 58 pages, Burke said. Most are drug-related, but there are a handful of other charges. “He’s been arrested for everything,” Burke added.

Topping has done four stints in prison totaling just over 14 years, according to the state Department of Corrections website. Most recently, Topping served just under seven years at Fishkill Correctional Facility for selling heroin. He was on parole at the time of his arrest.

The Albany man’s first three prison stints stemmed from drug convictions in Manhattan and the Bronx, according to the DOC. In most of those prison stays, he served just a couple years for drug possession and selling.

Burke said police will turn the case over to a grand jury to examine the possibility of drug sale charges related to last week’s arrest. Topping also is facing parole violation charges.

“He could just fall through the cracks and play with the system,” Burke said. “They take quick pleas, and, believe me, they know how to play the game. They’ll take advantage of the situation.” Burke said with so many alternatives sentences, such as drug courts and treatment programs, felonies often are reduced to misdemeanors.

A person who answered the phone at Support Ministries, the organization that runs Topping’s halfway house, declined to discuss the Albany man’s arrest.

Topping was arraigned before City Court Judge Thomas Keefe, who sent Topping to the county jail without bail.